Messi, Ronaldo & more: The 6 top goalscorers in Club World Cup history
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the most prolific players in Club World Cup history – but which legend comes out on top?
Despite top European clubs being asked to play a maximum of two games under the previous format, several other elite players found the net regularly in the competition.
We’ve totted up the numbers to find every player to have scored five or more goals in the Club World Cup.
Note: when two players have scored the same number of goals, the player with the fewer number of matches played appears higher.
6. Cesar Delgado – Five goals
Throughout his nomadic career, Delgado played for several clubs, including Cruz Azul, Lyon and Atlas.
However, his only spell at the Club World Cup came with Mexican side Monterrey. He represented the side in three successive years from 2012 to 2014, scoring five goals at the tournament.
The former Argentina international was at the heart of their attacking play, whether as a winger or in the centre of midfield.
The closest Monterrey came to intercontinental glory was a third-place finish in 2012.
5. Lionel Messi – Five goals
Due to winning the UEFA Champions League on three occasions, Messi played at the Club World Cup in 2009, 2011 and 2015.
At the first two tournaments, Messi unsurprisingly picked up the Golden Ball as best player, helping Barcelona win the tournament in the process.
He came second in the award in 2015, only behind teammate Luis Suarez, and has scored a total of five goals in five Club World Cup matches.
Messi will play in the 2025 tournament with Inter Miami and will fancy himself to add to his pre-existing goal tally.
4. Luis Suarez – Five goals
From one Barcelona legend to another, Suarez is one of the greatest players in the club’s history.
His partnership with Messi and Neymar was electric, and it led to them winning the Champions League against Juventus in 2015.
Just a handful of months later, they travelled to the Club World Cup and the former Liverpool star worked his magic.
He scored a hat-trick in the semi-final against Guangzhou F.C. before then scoring the final two goals in the deciding match against River Plate to win 3-0.
It’s the only two matches he’s played at the tournament, but he’s still remarkably scored five goals.
3. Karim Benzema – Six goals
Benzema scored one of Real Madrid’s goals in the 2016 final against Kashima Antlers, whilst he was regularly prolific in the semi-finals of the tournament.
The French striker became the first player to score in four different Club World Cup editions in 2023 with his strike for Al-Ittihad in the first round against Auckland City.
Later on in the tournament, he added to his tally with a strike against El Ahly, epitomising his knack of scoring goals on every possible stage.
2. Gareth Bale – Six goals
Surely the greatest Welsh player of all time, Bale was a regular goalscorer for Real Madrid after joining in 2013.
He was a member of the Madrid team that won the tournament in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 scoring numerous critical goals and assisting on several more.
Bale scored the second goal against San Lorenzo in the 2014 final and picked up the Golden Ball at the tournament four years later.
He scored six Club World Cup goals in total, the second-most of all time.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – Seven goals
Despite representing five clubs, Ronaldo has only played at the Club World Cup for two teams.
When Manchester United won the Champions League in 2008, he helped the Red Devils win the Club World Cup later that year with a goal in the semi-finals against Gamba Osaka.
Meanwhile, he was at the heart of Real Madrid’s mid-2010s dominance and picked up the Golden Ball in 2016.
With seven goals to his name, Ronaldo has scored more often than anybody else in Club World Cup history. You imagine that he’s aware too.
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